Moody's Corporation

In December 2016, Moody's Corporation reached a $864 million settlement with the United States Department of Justice and 21 states to resolve allegations that the credit rating agency inflated ratings of risky mortgage-backed securities in the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis. This settlement was the second largest payment by a ratings agency for issues related to the financial crisis.

In October 2017, Moody’s Corporation announced its investment in Blue Sky Environmental Strategies, a company focused on environmental risk analysis in China. This investment marked Moody's strategic expansion into environmental, social and governance (ESG) services and analytics, which are increasingly becoming important factors in financial markets worldwide, particularly in emerging markets like China.

In June 2019, Moody's Corporation completed its acquisition of RiskFirst, a leading fintech firm providing risk analytics services for the asset management and pension fund community. This acquisition was aimed at enhancing Moody's capabilities in offering risk assessment solutions and reflects its strategic emphasis on building expertise in technology-driven analytics, particularly in the financial services sector.

In January 2020, Moody's Corporation strengthened its presence in the compliance and risk management domain by acquiring Regulatory DataCorp (RDC) for approximately $700 million. RDC is a provider of anti-money laundering (AML) and 'know your customer' (KYC) data and software. This acquisition was part of Moody's strategy to expand its data capabilities in financial regulation, compliance, and customer identification.

In July 2020, Moody's Corporation announced its acquisition of RMS (Risk Management Solutions), a renowned provider of climate and natural disaster risk modelling solutions, for $2 billion. The acquisition significantly expanded Moody's capabilities in climate risk modeling and catastrophe risk solutions, integrating RMS's extensive experience with Moody's data and analytics expertise to offer comprehensive risk assessment solutions.

On February 10, 2021, Moody's Investors Service, a part of Moody's Corporation, downgraded South Africa's credit rating citing ongoing economic challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The downgrade intensified South Africa's existing economic vulnerabilities, affecting foreign investment and highlighting the difficulties faced by emerging markets during the pandemic-induced global economic slowdown.

In November 2021, Moody's Corporation announced its partnership with Microsoft to enhance its data and analytics capabilities by leveraging Microsoft's cloud technology. This collaboration aimed to develop innovative solutions for financial analysis, risk modeling, and other financial services, utilizing Microsoft's Azure platform to improve Moody's delivery of insights and reliability of data and services.

In August 2022, Moody's Corporation acquired Class for its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings and sustainable finance certification business. This move was aligned with Moody's strategy to expand its ESG and climate risk management offerings, enabling financial markets to better assess sustainable investments and integrating advanced ESG risk analytics and processes into its broader products and services.

In March 2023, Moody's Corporation announced its participation in the Debt Markets Transformation Initiative, a project aimed at innovating and providing technological solutions in debt markets globally. This initiative involved partnering with other financial institutions to explore new methods of enhancing efficiency, transparency, and accessibility in debt capital markets, focusing on digital transformation and data-driven insights.

In June 2023, Moody's Corporation expanded its offerings in cyber risk and security by launching new analytical tools and risk assessment capabilities targeting the increased threat of cyber incidents in the financial sector. This initiative was part of Moody’s strategic focus on providing comprehensive cybersecurity solutions, addressing the growing demand for resilient security frameworks in the evolving digital and financial landscape.